Iroha Isshiki was momentarily stunned. It was obvious that Aimi's question had caught her off guard. But very quickly, her usual smile returned. With a meaningful look, she said:
"If I told you it's a special pet name between Kotomi and me, that I like Kotomi and want to marry her, and that you'll have to call me Sister-in-law from now on—would you believe me?"
Aimi's gaze faltered slightly. Then she tugged at the corner of her lips, reached out, and gave Iroha's shoulder a light shove. Laughing, she said:
"Hahaha… Iroha, honestly. You really love joking around. That one was pretty successful, though. At least when I first heard it, I was genuinely shocked. I was even thinking, 'Is this that legendary situation where I treat you as a friend, but you want to become my sister-in-law?'"
At that point, Aimi Izumi's tone suddenly dropped a few degrees.
"You're joking… right?"
Sensing the shift in Aimi's emotions, Iroha felt a trace of confusion. But after a brief pause to think, she still nodded and forced a smile.
"Of course~ Just a little joke. Class is way too boring. I just looked at the clock on the wall—there are still twenty-five minutes until it ends. Tch… Is the classroom clock broken or something?"
As she said that, Iroha thought to herself, Even though it was just a random idea, I have a feeling that if I didn't say that, Aimi might've been really upset… or even angry…
Sure enough, after hearing her answer, Aimi seemed to let out a long breath. The shadow that had briefly clouded her mood and tone vanished instantly.
"Geez—seriously, Iroha. You're not allowed to make jokes like that again! My heart felt like it was riding a roller coaster. And I don't even like roller coasters!"
Iroha's eyes flickered with uncertainty. What Aimi said sounded like a joke—but perhaps she was overthinking it? Somehow, it felt more like a warning.
As if realizing her words had come out a little too harsh, Aimi quickly adjusted her expression and added:
"Ahem… What I mean is, you're so outstanding, so cute, so pretty. If my silly big sister could actually marry you and bring you home as her wife, I'd be so happy I'd wake up laughing from my dreams!"
The moment she said it, Aimi felt a twinge of discomfort. She was jealous. In her heart, Kotomi belonged to her—how could she possibly marry someone else?
Probably only Aimi in the entire world could feel jealous over something she herself had just said.
"R-Really?" Iroha's eyes brightened slightly, and she could barely suppress the excitement in her voice.
Busy trying to smooth things over, Aimi naturally failed to notice that subtle change. She nodded firmly and said with absolute certainty:
"Of course. Because you're my best, best, best friend~"
"Thank you, Aimi." Iroha opened her arms and gently hugged her.
Although it was still class time, their seats were near the back and not particularly noticeable, so none of their classmates paid attention. Besides, it was self-study period. Some students were bent over their books, others were secretly playing on their phones—everyone was focused on their own business.
Students liked self-study classes. Teachers liked them too.
The female physics teacher sitting at the podium was taking advantage of the quiet time to rest her head on the desk and close her eyes briefly. She planned to sit up straight again once a student came to ask a question. Last night, she had stayed up until midnight grading homework and summarizing key exam questions from previous years. By the time she got home, it was already one in the morning. With the entrance exams approaching, not only the students but also the teachers were under pressure. Recently, she had been sleeping very little. Even when she managed to fall asleep, she would wake up again after just two or three hours.
At first, Aimi didn't quite understand why Iroha suddenly hugged her. But after thinking about it, she decided it must be because of what she had just said—"You're my best, best, best friend~"—and Iroha had been moved.
The thought that her words could move her best friend like this made Aimi feel a little proud. She couldn't help letting out a giggle.
Hehehe.
Kotomi Izumi: [Shizuka, we've arrived at Harugamo Inn. Anyway, since you've already resigned from Sobu High School, how about packing your suitcase and coming over to soak in the hot springs with me~ I miss you so much~]
[Sticker: (A pink little monster hugging and kissing an orange little monster)]
—Time isn't about how much you have, but how you use it.
When Kotomi Izumi read that sentence in Time Management, she felt instantly enlightened. Every time she savored it, she gained a new insight.
For example, right now—after sending her reply to Iroha Isshiki—she didn't sit idle. Instead, she continued messaging other girls. Once she finished sending them, she would start replying.
Megumi Kato had replied earlier, but Kotomi hadn't answered yet because she was busy messaging Shizuka Hiratsuka. She planned to reply to Megumi after finishing with Shizuka.
There were techniques to sending messages. There were techniques to replying as well. This was something Kotomi had figured out herself. Replying wasn't like sending messages—one after another in order.
Instead, she had to decide the order based on each girl's personality, the current stage of their relationship, and the urgency of the matter.
For instance, Megumi Kato appeared gentle. But if she truly got angry, Kotomi might not even have time to react before a knife was already in her stomach.
So as long as Kotomi saw Megumi's message, she would usually reply within three minutes. If she responded late, she would always explain what she had been doing.
Her usual explanation was: she had been too absorbed in gaming and had her phone on silent.
Using gaming as an excuse might earn her a faintly resentful comment from Megumi, but it wouldn't cause real trouble. Megumi knew Kotomi loved games—mobile games, online games, or single-player games alike.
But if she said something like, "I was out eating or chatting with another girl and didn't see your message"…
It might sound exaggerated, but if the next day Megumi brought over a pot of delicious food, Kotomi would absolutely refuse to eat even a single bite.
Setting aside what kind of meat might be inside—who knew whether the yandere girl Megumi Kato would add some strange little potion into the food?
"Ugh… I guess only a ghost would know. Because I'd probably become one right after eating it…" Kotomi muttered to herself softly. After sending her message to Shizuka Hiratsuka, she tapped on Megumi Kato's profile picture and began reading her messages.
Megumi Kato: [I couldn't sleep last night. Every time you go on a trip, I can't help but start worrying about all sorts of things.]
[Even though I kept telling myself, 'My wife went to Kyoto this time with Yukino and Yui. I should feel reassured.' But for some reason, thinking that way only made me more uneasy.]
[Hehe, I wonder if you'll think I'm childish for saying this. Right now, I really wish there were a Doraemon Anywhere Door in front of me. If I opened it, I could ignore distance and easily come to your side.]
Kotomi Izumi: [Megumi, I miss you too~ How about I call Doraemon right now and see if it'll do me a favor and lend us the Anywhere Door? I'll buy it a bag of dorayaki.]
Megumi Kato: [What if one bag of dorayaki isn't enough?]
Kotomi Izumi: [Then it's asking for trouble. I'll just tie it up with rope and stuff it into a sack, then politely ask whether it's lending the door or not. If it refuses, I'll send it straight to the machine scrapyard.]
Megumi Kato: [That makes sense. After all, when dealing with people, harmony is precious. But no one said harmony was necessary when dealing with robots.]
[Sticker: (A little penguin rolling on the ground happily)]
The little penguin sticker on LINE was originally something Kotomi Izumi used frequently. Later, after Megumi Kato noticed how much Kotomi liked the penguin stickers, she downloaded them as well—and from then on, she only used the penguin stickers.
Kotomi Izumi: [When dealing with people, harmony is precious. But no one said harmony is necessary when dealing with robots… Megumi, I've discovered you have quite the talent for cold jokes.]
[Sticker: (A little cat licking its paw)]
Although Kotomi still used the little penguin LINE stickers, she wasn't as exclusive about them as Megumi Kato was. In Kotomi's sticker list, she had downloaded all kinds of different styles. She rotated them daily, and even after a month, she still might not use them all.
Last time, when Kotomi was downloading some little "movies" onto her phone, she downloaded so many that her phone warned her about insufficient storage.
While grumbling, she complained, "Phone storage these days is seriously terrible. When I bought this one, I even chose the largest storage option. I didn't think I downloaded that much. And now it's telling me I'm out of space? Let me see which stupid app is hogging all my memory."
She opened the storage settings, where every app and file's space usage was clearly listed.
Photos: over 20 GB.
Kotomi didn't particularly enjoy taking photos or selfies. When she bought the phone, one of its selling points had been its excellent camera—but from the day she purchased it until now, she could count the number of times she used it to take pictures on one hand.
So if she didn't like taking photos, why was the gallery taking up more than 20 GB? And even blocking her from downloading more little movies?
She was just about to start cursing at the gallery when she suddenly remembered that all the lewd images she downloaded from Twitter and soushu555.com were automatically saved there.
In one second, she went from being ready to curse the gallery to patting it with appreciation.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Then she moved on to check the other memory-hungry apps.
Blue Archive and Azur Lane taking up a lot of storage? That made perfect sense to her. In fact, she wished those two games would take up even more space. So she skipped over them.
After digging around for a while, she noticed that LINE was occupying nearly 6 GB.
She was dumbfounded. How could a messaging app possibly take up that much storage? It couldn't be that her chat history with the girls had directly consumed over 5 GB, right?!
After tapping into the details, she finally understood.
Too many downloaded stickers.
Just as she was thinking about how much storage her next phone should have, a message from Megumi Kato arrived.
Megumi Kato: [If you like hearing cold jokes, then after we get married, I'll hold you in my arms every day and tell you cold jokes.]
Kotomi Izumi: [Then you'll have to hold me tight with all your strength. I'm afraid I'll get frozen by your cold jokes. I'm really sensitive to the cold. If I feel chilly anywhere, I'll put on a little skirt and run away~]
Megumi Kato: [Don't worry. I'll never let you run away.]
[Also, it snowed yesterday, and the temperature dropped. Weather like this is perfect for hot pot.]
[Sticker: (A little penguin eating hot pot)]
[By the way, how are things in Kyoto? What are you planning to eat for lunch?]
Even though Megumi mentioned hot pot, when Kotomi saw her very first sentence, she subconsciously touched her neck, her stomach, and her hips.
No particular reason. She just suddenly felt a chill.
Kotomi paused to think before typing her reply.
Kotomi Izumi: [We just arrived at Harugamo Inn. I'm unpacking right now. Unpacking is such a hassle. If only you were here, Megumi—you could help me with it.]
[I haven't decided what to eat for lunch yet. We'll see later. Kyoto has lots of famous foods, but I heard the chefs at Harugamo Inn are very skilled too. I'll discuss it with Yukino and Yui and see whether we'll eat outside or at the hotel.]
When replying, she directly answered Megumi's third question—what to eat for lunch.
She deliberately avoided responding to Megumi's first sentence.
To keep Megumi from thinking she was brushing it off or dodging the topic, Kotomi intentionally wrote a long reply.
After chatting for a while, she finally found the right moment to steer the conversation.
Kotomi Izumi: [Megumi, I'm hungry~]
Megumi Kato: [Oh my, it's almost mealtime already. Then you should go eat first. My fault, my fault. I miss you so much that once I start talking to you, I completely lose track of time.]
[It snowed heavily in Chiba yesterday. I'm guessing Kyoto got quite a lot too? The weather this year is really strange. Not only did it snow so early, but the temperature has dropped lower than usual winters.]
[It's almost as if a god born in winter suddenly fell into slumber, and without divine control, the snow and ice are venting their cold recklessly upon the world—as if trying to freeze everything in existence.]
[Don't drink anything cold. Your little stomach isn't very sturdy to begin with. If you drink cold beverages in this weather, you'll end up crying from stomach pain again.]
Kotomi Izumi: [Okay~ Thank you for worrying about me. Mwah~! I can't kiss you directly while I'm in Kyoto. When I get back to Chiba, I'll compensate you with a huge kiss!]
When Megumi used "a god born in winter" as a metaphor, Kotomi couldn't help giving a wry smile.
Whether a god born in winter has fallen asleep, I don't know. But I do know that a childish brat with the word 'god' in her name is sleeping soundly inside me right now. It actually scares me a little—what if she never wakes up again… Seriously, hurry up and wake up, Kazumi.
Megumi Kato: [Hehe~ Alright~ Then when you come back from Kyoto, remember to tell me in advance. I'll go pick you up at the station.]
Kotomi Izumi: [Okay! I'll remember! It's a promise—make sure you come to the station. If you don't, I'll just keep waiting there until you do and make you feel so guilty your heart aches!]
Acting cute, Kotomi ended the LINE chat with Megumi.
While she had been talking to Megumi, several messages from Iroha Isshiki had come in, and she hadn't had time to reply.
She tapped on Iroha's profile picture.
Iroha Isshiki: [Kukukuku!]
[Hmph, Senpai. I waited exactly 3 minutes and 25 seconds before sending this reply. Guess whether I went to complain to Aimi during those 3 minutes and 25 seconds?]
[Kukukuku!]
Kotomi chuckled softly. Her feelings toward Iroha were complicated—hard to describe, yet unmistakably clear in her heart. But whenever she thought of Aimi, she would feel a little lost, unsure how to face her own feelings toward Iroha honestly.
Kotomi Izumi: [I'm guessing you didn't go complain to Aimi. Because if you had, she'd be flooding me with 99+ messages by now. Though I have to say, your timing is impressively precise—3 minutes and 25 seconds, down to the second. Makes sense. Not being able to chat with me must feel like every second is torture for you, right?]
Iroha Isshiki: [Exactly! Just thinking about you not being by my side feels like every second lasts a year! Senpai, I don't even want to go to school anymore. I just want to grab my suitcase and go to Kyoto to find you.]
Kotomi Izumi: [Go away, go away. I came to Kyoto to cultivate my mind and relax my soul. The moment I see you, I get annoyed. If you come here, how am I supposed to relax?]
Iroha Isshiki: [Waaah, Senpai, you're so mean. You actually said you get annoyed just seeing me. Your cute little junior is so hurt she's about to cry.]
Kotomi Izumi: [!]
[Wait, don't cry yet.]
Iroha Isshiki: [Oh? Has Senpai finally come to her senses and decided to comfort me? Hmph, I won't be that easy to soothe. Prepare yourself. Kukukuku!]
Kotomi Izumi: [Ah, no. I'm not trying to comfort you. I just wanted to ask—before you start crying, can you video call me first? After I answer, you can start crying.]
Iroha Isshiki: [...]
[Ahhh!!! Senpai, I'm really going to complain to Aimi and tell her you bullied me!]
Kotomi laughed smugly, her smile full of triumph.
"Hmph. I finally won against the little devil for once. When I deal with the little witch, I must counter-kill the little devil!"
After saying that, she set her phone aside, picked up the teapot, and poured herself another cup of tea. Like a victorious general returning from battle, she sipped it leisurely and contentedly.
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